These are the mounds of rubbish a pensioner allowed to be dumped and burned on his Newcastle farmland.

Fridges, freezers, demolition debris, plaster boards, glass, plastic, wood, rubber and household litter were among the piles of waste found on Leonard Sutherland’s former pig farm on at least seven occasions.

Environmental officers also noted heaps of ash, some of which were up to 1.5m high, near to the rubbish, indicating some of it had been burned.

They claimed also igniting the fridges and other waste, could potentially pose a hazard to the environment.

A court was told 77-year-old Sutherland had been allowing a pal to use the site at Burns Close Pig Farm, Armstrong Street, in Callerton, Newcastle to illegally dump waste for his waste disposal business.

Piles of waste left on farmland owned by Leonard Sutherland (Image: Environment Agency)

Officers made at least seven trips to the pensioner’s farm and issued him with a number of warnings to legitimately clear the land or face prosecution.

But the warnings fell of deaf ears and, 11 months later, Sutherland was summonsed to court.

The retired farmer, formerly of Burns Close Pig Farm but now of Burdale Avenue, Slatyford, pleaded guilty on the day of his trial to one count of knowingly permitting the operation of a regulated facility without authority.

He said: “You belatedly entered a guilty plea. You belatedly came to your senses.

“This is a serious example of this offence. What happens to [Sutherland’s pal] is not for me do deal with but I don’t overlook his involvement.

“Any fine would be derisory and not proportionate to the seriousness of this particular offence.

“Indeed, it’s so serious, only custody can be imposed.

“If you had pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity, the court might have been persuaded to give you a high-level community order but this a plea at the 11th hour.

“I give you some credit, but that is diminished.”

Piles of waste left on farmland owned by Leonard Sutherland (Image: Environment Agency)

Simon Crowder, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, said officers first visited the site after a report was made to Newcastle City Council on January 5 2015.

He said: “There were plastic window frames and black bags containing waste. There was a metal container there and the surrounding area covered in ash, which led officers to believe burning had taken place.

“On February 26 2015, the same officers returned to the site. Again, the gate was locked and they could see large amounts of waste, including rubber, plastic window frames and green waste in black bags.

“There was a metal tank on site, which looked like it was being used for burning.”

The court was told the officers paid the farm another visit on March 12, when Sutherland was present, and managed to gain access for a proper inspection.

This time, they found mounds of construction and demolition waste, plaster boards, other commercial waste, and large amounts of household litter.

Sutherland told the officers it wasn’t his problem and the waste belonged to a friend but agreed to get it transferred to a legitimate waste disposal site, the court heard.

But, when four further visits were made in May, July and November, more rubbish, including concrete, timber, mattresses and fridge freezers, was found.

Richard Haswell, mitigating, said Sutherland was in extremely poor health and hadn’t run the farm for a number of years having sold-off his stock of pigs.

He said: “He knew what was going on, so he is liable. He was allowing [his pal], who has a legitimate waste business, to put waste there.

“Unfortunately, there was no permission for him to do this at this site.”

Mr Haswell said Sutherland suffered from cancer, had had a quadruple bypass and had suffered a stroke and he had handed Burn Close Pig Farm over to his son.

Sutherland was given 10-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to pay £1,000 costs.

The Environment Agency’s Andy Rothery, who was involved in the investigation, said after the case: “Sutherland was repeatedly told the waste on his site was illegal and despite being given opportunities to clear it, this didn’t happen.

“Illegal waste activity has a detrimental impact on the community and environment, as well as undermining legitimate businesses.”